Henry johnson



' H.1oHNs0N.

Y Vapor Burner.

Patented Nov; 6. 1860;'

Inven of:

UNITED STATES PATEN T FFICE.

HENRY JOHNSON, OF WASHINGTON DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA-l.

VAIPOR-BURNER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 30,578, dated November 6, lGO.

To alt whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY JOHNSON, of IVasliington, District ofColumbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inVapor-Burners; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full`clear, and exact description of the principle or character whichdistinguishes them from all other things before known and of the usualmanner of making, modifying, and using the same.

My invention consists in certain improvements in self-generating gasapparatus described and represented as follows.

The apparatus is designed for the burning of gas or vapor generated fromthe burning fluid known in commerce as spirit gas, or ethereal oil. Theemployment of this fiuid in the various forms of self-generatingapparatus hitherto known, has been attended with a considerabledifficulty in preventing leakage. The reservoir has been elevated abovethe burner, so as to force the fluid through the packing in thegenerator by hydrostatic pressure and from the limpid character of thisfluid it has been found very dificult to get a stop cock for regulating1the flow of the fiuid, that was proof against leakage. The stop cock incommon use for coal gas burners has been found entirely inadequate tosuch purpose, the pressure of the fluid frequently causing a troublesomeleak. By the improvement about to be described I am enabled to dispensewith the elevated reservoir, use the common stop cocks without leak andat the same time get a steady and brilliant light, and a more convenientand less expensive form of apparatus.

a is the generator consisting of two straight pipes ZJ and c, the pipeb, containing the wick packing and c conveying the vapor or gas. Thewicking d fills pipe Z) to the point Z9 when the pipe contracts to asmaller bore until it meets the passage into pipe c at the top as shownin the draw ings, the two pipes Z) and c connecting in the screw cap e.It will be seen that the passages of the pipes Z) and c terminate at thetop nearly in conjunction so that they are covered and brought intoconnection readily through the cavity or space seen in the drawings onthe under portion of the screw cap, thus insuring a perfectly tight andsimple mode of uniting and opening the pipes o and c for cleaning themand other purposes. The prolonged contracted part of the pipe b, inconjunction with the corresponding portion of the gas-pipe c, I call theelevator. This elevator' or elevated gas conductor n, a should always beso high that its upper end will be above the level of the fluid in thereservoir, so as to prevent an overflow of iiuid to the burner. The pipec, which according to my patent of 12th April, 1859, sustained theburner independent of the iiuid pipe b, is now made to pass through aprojection or lug piece m on pipe to which piece also the burner a isattached. The burner is provided with a separate screw plug a forremoval when it is to be cleaned. This construction has a three foldadvantage viz: It makes a firm support for the burner which it lackedbefore; it admits of cleaning the pipe c with greater facility and atthe same time serves to convey heat from the burner direct to thepacking tube in conjunction with the generator g over the fiume. The twopipes or passages b and c may be made in one solid piece if desired. Thelower end of pipe c is closed by a plug 7c and when the cap c is removeda wire or string is readily passed through its whole length and the pipecleaned with great facility, and when the pipe b is unscrewed from s, itmay be cleaned in like manner. These passages are apt to get foul andthis has hitherto been a serious objection to this apparatus on accountof the difficulty of cleaning them. By having them so as to be opened ateach end the cleaning is easily effected.

The most important part of my improvement relates to the relativeposition of the reservoir and the elevator. Instead of elevating thereservoir R above the gas generator and the elevator I place it so thatthe upper part of the reservoir shall be near a level with the upperpart of the gas pipe or elevator and so little above the top of thewicking that after burning for a time the fiuid in the reservoir will bebelow this point. The lower part of the reservoir is about on a levelwith the burner, the two levels being indicated by red lines fr.rangement it will be seen that the iiuid which passes by the lowestpointviz. the level of the burner is there heated and partiallyvaporized thus materially aiding the work of the generator or heaterabove the flame.

From this ari The material features of this arrange ment are that thereservoir should be such that the lowest point of the fluid should. beat or about the level'of the burner and the highest point below thelevel of the top of thek generator or gaspipes, thereby always insuringa sufficiency of pressure and yet not so much as to require any extracare to prevent overflow and leakage. The reservoirs in this class ofgenerators are usually so high that the lowest point ofthe fluid isabove the' top of the wick packing. I am aware that reservoirs for lampsof various kinds have been placed on a level with the top of their wicksand also entirely beneath the burner7 but am not aware that in anyinstance such a position of the fluid reservoir has been combined with agas or vapor burner with an elevated wick and elevated gas pipes placedabove the burner and regulated by a stop cock as in my improvement.

Therefore what I claim as my invention l. So placing the reservoir orfountain in relation to the burner, that the lowest pointV of the fluidshall be at or about the level of the burner, and the highest pointbelow the level of the top of the generator or gas pipes Y), c in themanner and for the purposes herein rset forth. f

2. Covering the upper ends of the gas pipes and c by the screw cap econstructed, as set forth so as to embrace the open ends of these pipesin one open common cavity in the cap and screw over them in the mannerset forth.

3. The elevated conductor n, n, rising above the highest level of thefluid in the fountain as set forth. f

' HENRY JOHNSON. `Witnesses CHAS. G. PAGE,

WM. H. HARRISON.

